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Piplup Line/DPPt
Piplup is available as a starter in all three games. In Diamond and Pearl, it has to be picked near Lake Verity for the Starly battle first, whereas in Platinum, it can be received directly from Professor Rowan on Route 201. Its final form is the only Pokemon that's Water/Steel, which affords it not only two STAB options, one great and one not so much, but a grand total of 11 resistances and an immunity. Most of its good moves come from TMs and HMs, with Surf and Waterfall being primary, and Flash Cannon and Steel Wing as secondary. It also has good coverage in the form of Grass Knot, Earthquake, Ice Beam, and Avalanche. While Piplup is a relatively lackluster starter compared to the likes of Infernape and Torterra, due to needing to wait longer than they do for its better moves, it is still a reliable teammate and Pokémon in Sinnoh. Important Matchups - Platinum = * Rival (Route 201): Spam Pound. Watch out for critical hits. * Rival (Route 203): Spam Bubble on Starly, but let someone else handle the Turtwig. It's packing Absorb, which will still sting due to STAB. * Gym #1 - Roark (Oreburgh City, Rock-type): Just use Bubble. Geodude should fall to one hit, Onix in about one or two, and Cranidos should take no more than two or three. If you're uncomfortable in having Piplup fight the gym, you could evolve it into Prinplup first; it's a wise idea against Cranidos in particular, since its Headbutt can one-shot Piplup from full health if it crits. * Mars (Valley Windworks): Have Prinplup use Bubble on the Zubat. Watch out for Toxic, though. The illegal-by-twenty-one-levels Purugly should be handled by a Fighting-type or Rock-type if you have one, but failing that, Prinplup can work with BubbleBeam. * Gym #2 - Gardenia (Eterna City, Grass-type): No. Just no. Sending Prinplup in a Grass gym is basically suicide, even if it's packing Peck. If you have a Golbat, Staravia, or a Ponyta, use those instead. * Jupiter (Galactic Eterna Building): Don't fight the Zubat, because it knows Giga Drain. Skuntank will outspeed your Prinplup, nuke its accuracy with SmokeScreen, lower Defense with Screech if it makes contact, and possibly kill with Night Slash, so be cautious. * Gym #3 - Fantina (Hearthome City, Ghost-type): Prinplup could defeat the Duskull by using BubbleBeam, but it needs to be careful when it's hit by Will-O-Wisp. Haunter poses little to no threat if you heal when it uses Confuse Ray and Hypnosis. Don't fight the Mismagius, because it knows Magical Leaf, which will probably kill your Prinplup. * Rival (Hearthome City): Prinplup should handle the Starly and Ponyta with BubbleBeam. If it has Grass Knot, it can also handle Buizel. At this point, your rival now has a Grotle, and all the more you should have Prinplup avoid it. * Gym #4 - Maylene (Veilstone City, Fighting-type): BubbleBeam should handle the Meditite, but stay away from Machoke and Lucario, since they pack too much of a punch for Prinplup to handle. Empoleon is at odds against them too, due to its newly acquired Fighting weakness. * Rival (Pastoria City): Knock out the Staravia with Ice Beam. Buizel is still easy to defeat if you use Grass Knot. Use BubbleBeam on the Ponyta. As always, stay away from Grotle. Even though you might have Ice Beam, Grotle has Razor Leaf, so have Prinplup steer clear. * Gym #5 - Crasher Wake (Pastoria City, Water-type): Empoleon walls Gyarados and hits for neutral damage whether you use Ice Beam or Grass Knot. Quagsire is easily beaten by Grass Knot, but on the off-chance it survives, watch out for Mud Shot. Floatzel is also walled by Empoleon, and should be defeated with Grass Knot. * Cyrus (Celestic Town): Sneasel is easily dispatched by a Metal Claw. Golbat falls to an Ice Beam, but it can use Confuse Ray, so be careful. Murkrow also falls to an Ice Beam. * Rival (Canalave City): Staraptor, oddly enough, doesn't know Close Combat, so just use Ice Beam. Stay clear of Heracross and its Brick Break. Floatzel is walled and can be defeated with Grass Knot. Rapidash should fall to a single Surf. Torterra doesn't have Earthquake for some odd reason, so just Ice Beam it. * Gym #6 - Byron (Canalave City, Steel-type): Don't send Empoleon to face the Magneton. Not only is it packing Thunderbolt, but its ability, Magnet Pull, will prevent Empoleon from leaving the battle. Steelix should be easy to beat down with a Surf, but beware of Earthquake. Bastiodon knows Metal Burst, so Surf at your own risk (preferably not). * Saturn (Lake Valor): Even though Golbat is walled by Empoleon, it knows Supersonic, so be careful. Bronzor is also walled, but unlike Golbat, it doesn't know a confusion-inducing move, so fire away. Toxicroak, however, should be avoided, as it knows Revenge and Mud Bomb. * Mars (Lake Verity): No one on Mars's team can hit Empoleon for any higher than not very effective. Golbat? Ice Beam it. Bronzor? Just use Surf. Purugly? Same as Bronzor. Just in case, watch out for Supersonic, Confuse Ray, and Hypnosis. * Gym #7 - Candice (Snowpoint City, Ice-type): Sneasel and Froslass are walled by Empoleon and easy to beat with a Flash Cannon, but Froslass can be tricky with Double Team and Snow Cloak, so be sure to bring along accuracy boosters just in case. Piloswine is beaten easily by Surf, but be careful, because if it survives, it can retaliate with Earthquake. Abomasnow can be easily beaten by a well-applied Flash Cannon, but watch out for Focus Blast if it hits. * Cyrus (Galactic HQ): Sneasel is beaten by a Flash Cannon. Crobat can fall to an Ice Beam, but it also knows Supersonic, so be cautious when you fight it. Honchkrow's only neutral move is Night Shade, which shouldn't do too much, so just use Ice Beam. * Saturn (Galactic HQ): Golbat is still walled by Empoleon, but it knows Confuse Ray, so be careful when you try to Ice Beam it. Same deal with Bronzor, but use Surf instead. Toxicroak knows Brick Break, so don't chance it. * Mars and Jupiter (Spear Pillar, tag battle with rival): Both Bronzor can easily be taken down by Empoleon's Surf, but beware of Mars's Bronzor using Confuse Ray if it survives. Also, it knows Light Screen. The Golbat can be defeated by Ice Beam, but watch out for Confuse Ray from Mars'. Neither Purugly nor Skuntank can hit Empoleon for super-effective hits. Still, watch out for SmokeScreen from Skuntank. * Cyrus (Distortion World): Cyrus's leading Houndoom can be felled by a Surf, but it also knows Thunder Fang and has the possibility of outspeeding; it won't OHKO Empoleon, but it will leave a mark. Honchkrow no longer knows Night Shade, so fire away with Ice Beam. The only thing you have to worry about from Crobat is Confuse Ray, so if you get confused, heal, and hope you can Ice Beam it. Gyarados should be avoided at all costs, because it knows Earthquake. Weavile can do absolutely nothing short of try to use Fake Out, so just use Flash Cannon. * Giratina (Distortion World): Giratina, like its brethren, is walled by Empoleon, so feel free to keep using Ice Beam, unless it uses Shadow Force. Even then, the resistance should help greatly with tanking the hit. * Gym #8 - Volkner (Sunyshore City, Electric-type): Don't bother having Empoleon take part in this battle. Every single Pokémon on his team has a STAB attack that spells disaster. * Rival (Pokémon League): Avoid Staraptor and Heracross, since they know Close Combat. Snorlax should also be avoided since it's not only a special wall, but it also knows Earthquake. Floatzel has Brick Break, so don't use Empoleon unless you're absolutely certain it can beat the Floatzel. Rapidash is easily defeated by Surf. You could probably defeat the Torterra with Ice Beam, but be careful of Earthquake. * Elite Four Aaron (Pokémon League, Bug-type): Use Ice Beam on Yanmega, but watch out if it uses Double Team. Scizor can be taken down with Surf. Ice Beam the Vespiquen while keeping an eye on your PP. Don't fight the Heracross, since it knows Close Combat just like Barry's. Drapion is walled by Empoleon, so just use whatever you feel like. * Elite Four Bertha (Pokémon League, Ground-type): Using Empoleon against Bertha is risky, considering it's weak to Ground. Unlike in Diamond and Pearl, Whiscash doesn't have Fissure, so just Grass Knot it into oblivion. Gliscor is felled easily by an Ice Beam, but also best not attempted, due to a higher Speed and Earthquake in its roster; use it only if you boosted Empoleon's Speed somehow. You can use Surf on the Hippowdown, Golem, and Rhyperior. * Elite Four Flint (Pokémon League, Fire-type): The only Pokemon on Flint's team that know Sunny Day are his Houndoom and Rapidash, but they should be defeated with Surf. Flareon is also easily beaten by Waterfall; Surf can work too, but it will likely survive one hit. Infernape knows Mach Punch, ThunderPunch, and Earthquake, so it's probably best you let someone else handle it. If you let your Empoleon fight Magmortar, take extreme caution, because it does know Thunderbolt, which could kill Empoleon if the move scores a critical hit. * Elite Four Lucian (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): Mr. Mime knows Thunderbolt, so don't have Empoleon fight it. Use whatever against Espeon, because it's completely walled by Empoleon. Let someone else fight the Bronzong, because it knows Earthquake. Don't even try facing Alakazam. Focus Blast coming off of a base 135 Special Attack stat will most likely knock Empoleon into next week. Don't fight the Gallade, either, because it has Drain Punch. * Champion Cynthia (Pokémon League): Spiritomb is walled by Empoleon, so use whatever you feel, and watch your PP. Roserade could be defeated with Ice Beam, but watch out for its Energy Ball. I would not recommend fighting the Togekiss, because it has Aura Sphere and Shock Wave. Lucario should not be approached. It knows Aura Sphere and Earthquake. Milotic has Mirror Coat, so let an Electric-type handle this one. Avoid Garchomp, since it knows Earthquake. * Post-Game: Hasn't this game been brutal enough to you already? }} Moves Piplup starts off with Pound and Growl. Its first STAB move, Bubble, is learned at level 8. It learns Water Sport at level 11, but it's not really that useful. It learns Peck at level 15, but it's only super-effective against Grass and Bug, the former of which should be avoided like the plague. When it evolves into Prinplup at level 16, it learns Metal Claw, which is a good Steel-type move to have at this point in the game. It also gets Bide at level 19 (24 in Platinum), but it requires Prinplup to take some hits to use it, so that's not an option. At level 24 (19 in Platinum), it learns BubbleBeam, which should replace Bubble as main STAB. Fury Attack is learned at level 28, but it's not reliable, so just pass on it. Prinplup learns Brine at level 33. It may deal double damage if the target is at half or less HP, but keep in mind it has less PP than BubbleBeam. As soon as it evolves into Empoleon at level 36, it learns Aqua Jet, which is perfect for a guaranteed finisher. The rest of the moves, with one exception, are either laughable or just plain not a good idea: Whirlpool, at level 39, is laughably weak; Mist, learned at level 46, is just pathetic; Drill Peck, at level 52, is worth some consideration; Hydro Pump, at level 59, is not a good idea, what with its 80% accuracy, and Surf will often be satisfactory even in terms of damage output. In the TM/HM department, there are a myriad of coverage options: Ice Beam and Blizzard provides coverage against Flying and Grass; Earthquake is great in the late game; Steel Wing is an option for physical STAB; Avalanche is a good physical option, since Empoleon is naturally slow, anyway; Swords Dance is an option for a physical set; Stealth Rock is a good support option; Rock Slide is inaccurate, but is worth consideration if you have a Wide Lens; Grass Knot can hit Water/Ground Pokémon for super-effective damage; Flash Cannon is an amazing special STAB move for Empoleon; Surf or Waterfall would be perfect for Water STAB whether on the special or physical spectrum. Tutor-wise, the only worthwhile move Empoleon gets is Signal Beam, which unfortunately is stuck in the post-game. Recommended movesets: ''Special: Surf, Ice Beam, Grass Knot, Flash Cannon / Stealth Rock'' ''Physical: Waterfall, Steel Wing, and any two between Avalanche / Rock Slide / Earthquake / Swords Dance'' ''Mixed: Surf / Waterfall, Flash Cannon / Steel Wing, Ice Beam / Avalanche, Earthquake / Grass Knot'' Recommended Teammates * Fast Sweepers: Empoleon's Speed stat is decidedly lackluster, and though Aqua Jet does help slightly in this regard, Pokemon like Garchomp and Infernape are still far out of Empoleon's league to handle on its own. As such, Pokemon that can outrun and KO these Pokemon are appreciated, and in turn, Empoleon's impressive bulk and vast resistances provide much needed survivability, as well as the potential chip damage from Stealth Rocks ** A few examples of Pokemon that meet this description are: Staraptor, Gengar, Weavile, Alakazam, Crobat, Raichu, Floatzel, Roserade * Grass-Types: While packing super effective STAB to deal with most Ground types, faster ones like Gliscor, or fast Pokemon with Earthquake, pose a grave danger to Empoleon, and Empoleon usually does not want to risk switching in to deal with Ground types if no one else in the party can hit them. Grass types deal with this issue nicely, also providing a resistance to Electric attacks. Roserade gets special mention for packaging with it a resistance to fighting and a good Speed stat, letting it also fill the role above. ** A few examples of Pokemon that meet this description are: Roserade, Tangrowth, Leafeon, Cherrim * Flying-Types: While Empoleon can occasionally muscle its way through the generally slow Ground types, it won't typically have this luxury vs Fighting types, which only become nastier the closer you get to the end of your journey. Despite their shared weakness to Electric, Flying Types offer solid support in dealing with Fighting types, and can also help cover Prinplup's Grass weakness to escort it through the midgame. As a bonus, they also can switch in for free on ground type moves: while most Flying types won't particularly apperciate dealing with Rock/Grounds, Empoleon usually dispatches those anyway. ** A few examples of Pokemon that meet this description are: Staraptor, Crobat, Noctowl, Scyther, Gliscor * Psychic Types: Although harder to obtain than Flying types, and being less proficient at handling Grass, Psychic types don't add a secondary weakness to Electric, and are also more likely to retain their resistance to fighting. Empoleon's typing and good defenses also let it take hits for its squishier friends. ** A few examples of Pokemon that meet this description are: Kadabra, Alakazam, Gardevoir, Gallade, Espeon, Other Piplup's stats Prinplup's stats Empoleon's stats * What Nature do I want? If you get a nature that boosts Special Attack, Empoleon will wreck some face. Modest is best, though you could also run Quiet or Mild. Attack-boosting natures are all right, though its Attack is mediocre at best. Bold is also great if you're running support. Speed-raising natures aren't really necessary because it has terrible Speed. But Speed-reducing natures can help you take advantage of Avalanche if your Empoleon knows it. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? You should have a Prinplup before Mars and an Empoleon before Fantina, if you're playing Diamond and Pearl, or Crasher Wake if you're playing Platinum. Stall the evolution at your own peril. * How good is the Piplup line in a Nuzlocke? It is very solid and reliable. Good bulk, good offenses, and resistances to almost every type in the game? Yes, please! Piplup and Prinplup's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Electric, Grass * Resistances: Fire, Water, Ice, Steel * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark Empoleon's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, Ground * Resistances: Normal, Water, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel (x0.25), Ice (x0.25) * Immunities: Poison * Neutralities: Fire, Grass Category:Diamond/Pearl/Platinum